New York Yankees Open to Trading Rob Refsnyder

His future with the team looking bleak, the Yankees have reportedly let clubs know they are willing to trade utility man Rob Refsnyder.

Not long ago, Rob Refsnyder seemed to be part of the New York Yankees‘ future plans, one way or another. He was ranked as high as the #7 prospect in the Yankees system by Baseball America prior to the 2015 season. However, last year’s farm-restocking at the trade deadline significantly altered Refsnyder’s standing within the organization.

Now, it appears the Yankees are considering their options with the 25-year-old utility player. According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yanks have informed other teams that they will field trade proposals for the former fifth-round pick.

Refsnyder’s ultimate downfall with the Yanks is that they have just never been able to find a place for him on the field. Drafted out of the University of Arizona in 2012 as an outfielder, Refsnyder began his minor league career as a second baseman. Since making his major league debut in 2015, the Yankees have attempted to enhance his versatility in an effort to carve out a spot for him on the roster – turning him into their own poor man’s version of Ben Zobrist, if you will.

He’s appeared at first, second and third base, along with right and left field over the course of 74 big league games. The problem is that the Yankees suddenly have quite a few highly-rated prospects vying to take over those positions in the next couple years.

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Greg Bird aims to establish himself as the starting first baseman in 2017, and Aaron Judge as the right fielder. Clint Frazier could also make his debut in the outfield at some point this year. Blake Rutherford is further away, but early reviews are promising on the club’s most recent first-round draft choice. Meanwhile, the infield anticipates the arrival MLB.com’s #3 overall prospect Gleyber Torres, most likely sometime in 2018. Jorge Mateo’s star may have faded a bit, but he’s still in the mix there as well, along with Miguel Andujar. Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro can both stick around through 2019 as well.

Obviously, it’s unlikely all the minor league talent will pan out perfectly, but it’s easy to recognize that Refsnyder is getting lost in the shuffle. The Yankees have always liked his bat, but his inability to field any one of his various positions particularly well has hampered him. He hit .316 in 54 games at Triple-A last year, and owns a stout .293/.379/.429 career slash line in the minor leagues.

In the majors he’s been decidedly less impressive at the plate (.262/.332/.354) but he has hardly had an ample opportunity to settle in (222 PA). It’s the classic double-edged sword with a fringy young player: He needs more playing time to find his feet at the big league level, but he’s not performing well enough to get into the lineup consistently for a team that aims to compete.

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Refsnyder’s best shot at making his mark in the majors may indeed be elsewhere. The Yankees won’t get much for him in a trade, and they surely don’t expect to. But he’s still young (26 later this month) and under team control through 2022. There should be more than a few clubs willing to take a chance on him. The Yanks likely won’t just give him away, but with one minor league option remaining, time is running out for him in the Bronx. Unless he can win a bench role this spring, a parting of the ways seems inevitable.